Harvard To Maintain Green Commitment

Harvard will maintain its investments in environmental initiatives despite the tightening University budget, Harvard administrators announced at an event in Sanders Theatre yesterday.

Over the last two years, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has reduced its emissions by 8,300 tons of carbon dioxide—an improvement they say is worth the financial costs.

“These are quite challenging times for the University and Faculty of Arts and Sciences,” said FAS Dean Michael D. Smith. “Despite all of the trouble, it’s clear that much good can come from learning to do with less. FAS is embracing the values of conservation and wise use of resources to minimize the impact of choices we make today on future generations.”

In addition to Smith, the event also featured oceanography professor and climatologist James J. McCarthy, who served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Director of Building Infrastructure and Operations Jay M. Phillips, who heads the FAS emissions reduction program.

Phillips provided information on FAS’ efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2006 levels by 2016, a Harvard-wide target adopted by University President Drew G. Faust this July. Currently, FAS emits 94,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to Phillips.

Accounting for future growth, the 30 percent target means that the FAS will have to mitigate 47,000 tons of carbon by 2016, nearly 6,000 tons per year.

Half of the 8,300 tons that have been cut in the past two years come from upgrading the efficiency of central plant equipment through measures such as switching from oil to natural gas, which contains less carbon.

The other half was achieved through conservation efforts and behavioral-change programs, such as retrofitting buildings with more efficient lighting and encouraging sustainable lab practices, Phillips said.

In the coming years, conservation and behavioral-change campaigns will get more “aggressive” and hopefully constitute up to three-fourths of annual reductions, he added.

“Behavioral change means changing the way we make decisions around the infrastructure that we buy, the parameters that we set in our labs, challenging assumptions about the way we do business as usual,” Phillips said. “It has opportunities for reducing our consumption very significantly.”

McCarthy spoke on the latest developments in climate science, which he said attest to the increasing threat posed by global warming.

“The decisions we make today will very much affect climate in the years to come,” McCarthy said. “If we delay those decisions, we will live with increasing consequences of climate impact.”

Smith said that Harvard hopes to devote more money to environmental research in the upcoming years.

“We have a unique obligation to engage our students and faculty in solving global challenges,” Smith said. “Through innovation and discovery Harvard can have the leverage to make real and lasting impact on this problem.”

—Staff writer Natasha S. Whitney can be reached at nwhitney@fas.harvard.edu.